Before reading this article, please click "Follow", which is not only convenient for you to discuss and share, but also can bring you a different sense of participation, thank you for your support
In China, the hot land of table tennis, national champions are often more admirable and awe-inspiring than world champions. Because to become a national champion, you have to beat many strong players on your team, not just against players from other countries.
Surprisingly, in this legendary Chinese national table tennis team, there are also some unknown "dream chasers". They put in the same amount of sweat and effort as their teammates, but they couldn't stand on the top podium of the podium.
Wang Rui is one of them.
When he was young, Wang Rui was a member of the Hebei table tennis team, and Ma Lin was a teammate at the same time. Although he is not very tall, he has a nimble foot and good ball skills.
It's a pity that on that most powerful stage, he always missed the final success and missed the selection for the national team.
Until the age of 24, it is the golden age of a table tennis player's career. However, Wang Rui made a shocking decision - he chose to leave China and go to Japan to coach.
This decision completely changed the trajectory of his life.
"Fuck off! You half-assed! Don't want to be in the national team again!"
The words of the coach of the Hebei team were like a heavy slap in the face of Wang Rui. At the age of 24, he is in the prime of table tennis players, but in several national team trials, he has lost by a narrow margin.
Wang Rui stood there dejectedly, the loss and frustration in his heart surging like a tide, and tears flowed uncontrollably on his face.
Just when Wang Rui was hesitant and helpless, he suddenly made a shocking determination - to give up his Chinese nationality, go to another country, and cross the ocean to Japan!
That's right, it's Japan, which is not outstanding in table tennis. Maybe there, for a Chinese coach, he still has a chance to start over.
Resolutely, Wang Rui used up all his savings and went through the formalities of going abroad. After some arduous preparations, he finally said goodbye to his family and friends and boarded the plane to Japan alone, opening a new chapter in his life.
In 2002, Wang Rui set foot on the strange land of Japan for the first time. As a table tennis coach from China, he faced many difficulties and challenges.
The biggest obstacle is the language barrier. Unable to communicate fluently in Japanese, Wang Rui initially struggled to find his ideal job. He worked part-time in small local companies and factories, but his income was meagre and his livelihood was struggling.
Just when he was about to give up, Wang Rui suddenly figured out one thing: as a coach, practice is far more important than words. As long as the racket in the hand can be wielded freely, it is enough to communicate and pass effectively with the student.
With this idea, Wang Rui resolutely devoted himself to the industry of table tennis coaching. Although it was difficult at first, he had to adapt to the Japanese way of life and cultural customs, in addition to the language barrier.
But he was never discouraged, and with his down-to-earth and diligent style and solid teaching skills, he slowly won the trust of students and parents.
Time flies, 10 years have passed in the blink of an eye. After perseverance, Wang Rui not only became a senior coach of the Japan Table Tennis Association, but also founded his own table tennis training institution, and was praised as "a generation of grandmasters" by the Japanese table tennis community.
When Wang Rui's education career was gradually on the right track, he also cultivated a group of outstanding students, such as Miu Hirano, Tomokazu Zhangmoto and others, who later emerged on the international stage and became the leaders of the new generation of Japanese table tennis.
Among them, Miyu Hirano can be said to be Wang Rui's most proud protégé. Since the age of 7, she has shown an amazing talent for table tennis and has a strong learning comprehension. Under the personal guidance of Wang Rui, Miu Hirano has been immersed in training in youth competitions since she was a child, and although she was once suppressed by Chinese players, Wang Rui never gave up on cultivating her.
On the contrary, they have drawn lessons from it and summed up a set of secrets for confrontation. Finally, in 2017, under the careful training of Wang Rui, Miu Hirano won the women's singles crown in one fell swoop at the age of 17 at the Asian Championships, creating a record for the youngest champion in this event, which is a miracle.
Miu Hirano has shown an amazing talent for table tennis since she was a child. At the age of 7, she won consecutive victories in primary school competitions, defeating many opponents of the same age, which made people admire.
At the age of 13, she joined the Japanese national junior team and became the hopeful star of the new generation of Japanese table tennis.
However, just as Miyu Hirano was rising, she also suffered blows and setbacks again and again, all from the players of China's traditional table tennis team.
In 2013, at a junior world championship, Miu Hirano lost to Chinese teenager Liu Gaoyang and unfortunately lost. The defeat was the beginning of a nightmarish experience for years to come.
The following year, in 2014, Miu Hirano became the youngest global champion to win the World Championship on Tour. But the good times didn't last long, and this year was also the beginning of her bending her knees in front of the Chinese women's table tennis.
In the women's doubles final of the ITTF Open Championships in the same year, Miu Hirano and Misei Ito, the Japanese golden pair, lost 0-3 to the Chen Meng/Wang Manyu combination; In the singles match of the Asian Games in September, Hirano lost 1-3 to Zhu Yuling; In the following World Youth Championships, whether it was singles or doubles, Hirano could not overcome the strong challenge of Chen Meng/Liu Gaoyang.
This defeat after defeat almost crushed Miu Hirano's confidence.
Faced with the hesitation and self-abandonment of his beloved apprentice, Nakazawa Rui was extremely painful in his heart. As a coach, he knows that Hirano is not lacking in strength, but rather talented. The key is that she has always continued the traditional Japanese style of play, which is not balanced in attack and defense, and lacks change and innovation.
As a result, Rui Nakazawa made a bold decision: he began to adopt some concepts and methods from the Chinese table tennis training system, and integrate them with the existing training methods in Japan to complement each other's strengths.
After a period of exploration and adjustment, Miu Hirano has finally achieved a comprehensive transformation in terms of tactical play, from the original single defensive style of play, to a comprehensive style of play that is both offensive and defensive, and unpredictable.
This opens up an unprecedented opportunity for her to compete in the Ring in the future.
This championship is not only a miracle for Miu Hirano to bid farewell to the haze and regain confidence, but also the pinnacle of Rui Nakazawa's coaching career. All of this is due to his breakthrough and innovation in teaching concepts and methods.